


A Dangerous Game to Play

by FayetteAelita



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Black Romance, Drama, Drama & Romance, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship/Love, Gangs, Het, Love, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Romance, Suspense, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:29:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayetteAelita/pseuds/FayetteAelita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Anne knew, was that her brother got beaten up by some guy named Louis Tomlinson, and all she wanted was some sort of revenge. So when her only friend made up a plan to bring him down, she was happy to go with it.</p>
<p>But it didn’t take long for things to start going downhill, and when people around her weren’t who she thought they were and the truth about her brother’s accident gets revealed, Anne finds herself in the company of gangsters and murderers, on the playing board of a very dangerous game.</p>
<p>And AU about mind games, love games, ulterior motives and going all-in. <br/>Also on 1DFF</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Are you sure about this?” Niall asked.  
  
“Yes.” I tried to use my anger to cancel out the nerves that had me trembling in my seat.  
  
The parking lot was empty, except for a view cars of the people inside. It was late,and already dark, the streetlight on the corner of the road was broken and allowed the darkness that lingered between the trees to creep even closer.   
It was October, so the night was dark and restless and wind played with the leaves and empty beer cans that had been left on the pavement. The place gave me the creeps and the bar on the other side of the lot looked even less welcoming. It was an eerie place, every instinct I had was telling me to turn around and run. I should definitely not go inside, alone.   
  
I could see a number of shades through the filthy windows. So that meant there were people.  _People were always good,_  I tried to convince myself.   
  
Niall looked about as nervous as I was feeling. He kept checking the rear view mirror to see if we were being followed but so far everything had been going smoothly.   
  
“Alright, remember what we talked about.” He sighed as he ran his hand through his blond hair.   
  
“I know. We can’t be seen together from now on.” I looked out the window and took a few deep breaths. This had to be done. I just had to get in there; that would be enough to get his attention, and everything was easy from that moment on.   
I was going over the plan in my head as I felt Niall's hand on my wrist.   
  
“If something goes wrong, you call me, ok?” He seemed worried, nervous even, he probably had every right to be. We both knew what could happen if this mission somehow went wrong. Subconsciously, I held on to the little prepaid Nokia a little tighter. The device had only one phone number in its memory, Niall's. I still had my normal smartphone, but the other guys could not know I was texting Niall and they definitely could not know what I would be texting about. So we both had these emergency phones, just for each other.   
  
“You should put that away.” Niall noted while he checked the mirrors again.   
  
I slid the phone into my purse and took a few deep breaths. We had been planning this for weeks, it was go-time. I knew I had to do this, but my hands were cold and sweaty and my heart was racing in my chest.   
  
“For Liam.” I mumbled under my breath as I unbuckled my seat belt.   
  
“For Liam.” I heard Niall agree softly.   
  
After a last breath and a quick prayer, I got out of the car.   
  
“Anne?” I heard Niall call after me. I turned around to look at him one last time. The dashboard light cast blue shadows on his face, making his cheeks slightly more pronounced and the dark circles under his eyes even darker.   
  
“I love you.” His blue eyes pierced into mine. Somehow his words made me feel more secure.   
  
“I love you too.” I told him. Every bit of my heart seemed to melt into the words. It was true, I loved him, but not in a relationship type of way, it was more than that. I owed him everything and apart from my dad, he was the only person I had left to love. We were silent for a while, the confessions echoed between us. Niall was eventually the one to break the spell of the moment. With a little nod, he signaled that it was time for me to go and with a sigh I shut the car door and turned around.   
  
I heard him start the engine of his Mercedes when I started my quest towards the bar. Everything was going to be fine, I told myself.   
I kept walking as I heard Niall drive off into the darkness. I was alone for a moment, and as I took the last few steps toward the bar I remembered why I was here.   
  
I was there to bring them down, to watch their world burn. I was there for revenge.   
  
A little pamphlet caught my eye.   
“Wanted: Help”  
That was my mission for tonight.   
  
I took one last breath before I opened the door.   
  
Immediately the smell of stale beer and old cigarettes hit me. It was uncomfortably warm in there and everyone seemed to look at me. They all were the typical tough-guys you'd expect in a shady bar like this one. Jeans and filthy band-shirts seemed to be the dress code. I had spent the whole afternoon to find an appropriate outfit and even though I got the “band shirt and jeans”-thing right, I stood out like a sore thumb. I felt too clean to belong here.   
  
I quickly scanned the crowd. The bar was on my left, some tables in the middle and on the right side were some pool tables.   
  
That was where I found him. He was sitting on one pool table while his friends were playing pool on the other. A cigarette between his tattooed fingers and a smile on his face. He laughed at a joke one of his friends made, a tall guy with curly hair, and took another sip of his beer. He was wearing a white shirt with short sleeves, I could see the stag tattoo on his arm. Even though he was just sitting there, smoking his cigarette and laughing at a joke one of his friends made, it was clear that he was in control of his life and he would let no one take that from him. Another one of his friends, a tattooed guy with black hair and earrings saw me looking at them and narrowed his brown eyes. His stare had me feeling like a deer in headlights. I felt heat crawl to my cheeks. Quickly, I turned around and headed for the bar before the others would notice me. For now I would be the mysterious stranger.   
  
The wide shouldered guy behind the bar greeted me with a   
grin.   
  
“Can I help ya, Love?” he started as I was in hearing range.   
  
The two older guys he was chatting with turned around to see what was going on. I gathered my courage as I put on my best smile and climbed on the bar stool next to them.   
  
“I heard you were looking for help.” I smiled at him.   
He laughed.   
  
“Aren’t you a little young for that?”  
  
“I’m old enough” I took my ID from my purse, I was prepared. It took a while for him to inspect it.   
  
“No school?” He asked as he twisted the card between his hands.   
  
“Nope, not for another six months.” I smiled and leaned in closer. He took a last look at my ID before he handed it back.  
  
“Come on Paul, it’s not like Sabrina is coming back anytime soon.” The bald guy next to me declared. The man behind the bar, Paul I assumed, frowned as he dried his hands on a towel.   
  
“Why here? With your age and the time you have on your hands you can work anywhere.” He asked.  
  
“But I want to work somewhere exciting.” I confessed as I smiled and made sure my eyes sparkled the way Niall always liked. This would have to draw him in. And it did.   
  
“I promise ya, Love, there is nothing exciting about this place.” He laughed. I smiled back at him as he put down the towel and shook my hand to introduce himself. “I’m Paul.”  
  
“I’m Anne.”   
  
“So, when would you like to start?”   
  
“Now.” I smiled. The guys next to me laughed.


	2. Staring Contest

There was a silence that stood out against the rest of the bar. All around us, people were sitting in groups and talking to each other over big glasses of beer. Despite the no smoking sign, I could see several people holding a cigarette between their fingers, carelessly dipping the ashes into used beer glasses. The place was lit by bare light bulbs hanging from the sealing, their dim golden light bounced off the faded concert posters that covered the walls.   
  
Once, the poster wall would have been a sight to see. I could recognize several bands in there that I knew were classics. But the posters had faded and what once had been bright black and whites, had now turned into grey and yellow's, corners started to come off and in some places people had started drawing on them. There was an old dusty jukebox in the corner next to a pinball machine that was probably broken. Along the far wall there were three pool tables, two of which were occupied by Louis and his friends, one to sit on and one to actually play.   
  
I tried not to look at them that much. They stood, out and not only because of their age. Most customers were older men that were hunched over their beers while talking with their mates, their hair peppered with grey and their strong hands wrinkled and callused from sun and hard work. Some were younger, with filthy hair and faded baseball caps. But there were only a few other people my age, and apart from three guys in the corner that looked like proper junkies, with hoods pulled over their snapbacks and nervously twitching fingers, all of the other younger people were in Louis's group.   
  
But their age was not the only thing that made them stand out, their attitude pulled even more attention. They seemed relaxed, smiling and bouncing quick comments off each other that made the others laugh even more. But there was a tension that radiated from them. Not towards each other, but towards the rest of the customers. I didn't know why, maybe it was the way they shot quick glances through the bar every now and then, keeping a very obvious watchful eye on their surroundings. Maybe it was their fuck-everything attitude, taking up two pool tables for the five of them, just to have a place to put their drinks. Louis sitting on one of the tables made it even more obvious that they wouldn't just move if you asked them to.   
  
But maybe they also drew attention because they were seriously good looking. Even from where I stood, I could see well placed tattoo's curve around defined biceps. Their clothes seemed trashy but you could see they were the clean type of fashionable trashy instead of the genuine deal. It looked like they had just thrown something on, but I knew that there were people that would spend hours putting together a same kind of careless look - I knew I had.   
  
Yeah, they stood out, and so did I. I was very aware of that fact as I waited for Paul to answer my question. It seemed to take ages for him to answer, his brown eyes sliding up and down my face to see whether he would really want me to work in his place. More eyes burned into my back with every passing second that Paul didn't respond. If my heart hadn't been banging against my ribs before, it had now. But then I could see a smile light up the eyes of my brand new employer and I almost sighed with relief.  
  
“Sure.” He laughed as he gestured me to come stand behind the bar. I almost ran into a customer as I spun on my heels and hurried over to his side. My head was buzzing with an intoxicating mix of nerves and excitement.  
  
  
In the next thirty minutes Paul explained where I would find glasses and drinks and in which cupboards I could find towels and soap. The three older man that sat by the bar threw quick comments my way on how to use the tap and how full they wanted their glasses.   
  
I wasn’t any good at pouring beers, but I made sure to smile and make jokes so that people would at least enjoy watching me fail. Pretty soon I noticed my nerves had started to fade. The customers were a lot nicer than I'd expected them to be. I quickly learned to filter the rude remarks from actual feedback and I had already picked my favorite customer; Fred, one of the older man by the bar with a white beard and a roaring laugh that seemed to make the whole bar shake. He used to be a fisherman and whenever Paul and I didn't have to do anything, Paul asked him to tell me stories about his time at sea.   
  
And stories he could tell. From the way he was talking about his time at sea you would think he had caught a blue whale single handed and the guy sitting next to him, Thomas, a bony old man with a particularly sour look on life, made sure to point out that his friend was exaggerating each time Fred had finished a sentence. At which Fred would laugh and tell him he should lighten up.   
  
I enjoyed listening to Fred's stories, they helped me calm my nerves. I was washing up some glasses when Fred told my about a stormy night in eighty-four when their ship almost sunk at least three times and his mate had saved them by cutting some ropes that their captain at the time wasn't particularly happy about. The older man was leaning over the bar and speaking with a hushed voice, so that his story became even more intense. But when I looked over his shoulder into the room, I couldn't bring myself to listen anymore.   
  
  
One of Louis's friends came over to the bar, was the tattooed one with the black hair. His deep brown eyes seemed to pierce right through me and with every step he took towards the bar, I could feel my heart racing again. And even though I tried really hard to focus on the story Fred was telling, I couldn't focus at all. By the time the young man reached the bar my hands were shaking so badly that I had to put down the glass I was holding, fearing that I might drop it.   
  
I don't know what made me nervous about him. There was something mysterious about him, something dark. But apart from his bad-boy looks, there was nothing that I had to be nervous about, I told myself. So I excused myself from Fred and his story and I was about to turn to him with my best smile when he called out to Paul.  
  
“Paul! Five in the back.”   
  
His voice wasn’t loud or harsh but it easily seemed to drown out the other noises in the bar. I turned to look at him, but he had already turned around and was making his way back to his friends.  _Five in the back, that was it? Damn, these guys knew how to run this place._  I stared at the back of his black t-shirt until I felt a tap on my shoulder.  
  
  
“Better get to work, kiddo. How good are you with a tray?”   
  
Paul asked as he handed me a shiny silver tray. I was perfect with trays, I had practiced at home. But I did not dare to tell him that.   
  
“Do they always order like that?” I asked instead, as I grabbed five clean glasses.   
  
“Better get used to it.” Paul got back to cleaning the hard liquor bottles, a task he had given himself as he let me take over serving drinks.   
  
I had not protested, the bottles all looked like it had been ages since the last time they had been cleaned. While Paul got back to his bottles and asked Fred to continue his story, I was left to deliver the drinks.   
  
For some reason I felt my palms getting sweaty again as I left the save space behind the bar. With every step I started to feel just as nervous as I had when I arrived, party because I was holding a tray with five heavy glasses of beer and I didn't want to spill anything on my first day of work, but also because of the stares I got from the customers around me, including Louis and his friends.  
  
  
“Beers!” One of them shouted happily. He was wearing a Kiss Tee that hung loosely around his wide shoulders. There was a cheeky sparkle in his green eyes, and the dimples he flashed when he smiled added to that. He would have seemed nice, if there hadn't been something in his stance that made me feel intimidated while he towered over me. His hand clutched around a pool cue and even though his eyes seemed to be smiling, there was something in them that was calculating my every move. I felt my hands tremble even more as not only his but all eyes were fixed on me.  
  
“Nice.” A short guy with spiky blond hair grinned when I crossed the last few meters. He wasn't as tall as the first one. The curly haired guy towered over him easily. But for what he lacked in size, he made up for in width. His shoulders seemed so wide that it almost made him look unnatural and awkward.   
  
“Where do you want them?” I asked. Hoping they would not notice my nerves. But to be fair I wanted the ground to swallow me then and there.   
  
The guy with the black hair that had ordered the beers nodded towards the pool table Louis was sitting on. The air was thick with tension as I moved towards the table. The other boys turned back to their game, but Louis kept his focus on me. He didn’t say a word, but I could feel his eyes on me as I put the full glasses on the table and collected the empty glasses to take back with me.   
  
“First day, love?” A harsh voice asked as I was about to turn away. Even though I knew Louis was looking at me, the question took me by surprise.   
  
“Yes.” I breathed in reply while I looked up at him. His eyes were the kind of icy blue that could freeze molten iron. His look was so intense it send shivers down my spine and had me speechless for a moment. I tried to smile and hoped he couldn’t see my hands trembling.   
  
I knew what I got into, this was exactly the place I needed to be, I told myself. But somehow I had underestimated how I would feel around them. The memory of Liam in a hospital bed came to me, but I quickly tucked it away again. I could not think about what had happened, they would notice.  _But I bet the black haired one had something to do with it,_  a little voice inside me called out.   
  
Louis nodded to himself while he looked at me, hollowing his cheeks around a cigarette before he blew smoke to the ceiling. I stared at him for a while before I picked up the tray to make my way back to the bar.   
  
“What’s your name?” he called as I took my first steps. The tall boy with the brown curls blocked my way. A little reluctant I turned around to face Louis again.   
  
“Anne.” I managed. He looked at me, freezing time while trapping me with just his gaze. After a while, he nodded again as if he approved of my name. And I found myself just standing there, somehow waiting for his permission to leave. It was silly, but it just happened that way. I took the time to fake my best smile.   
  
“Yours?” I squeaked after a while.   
  
“Louis, “ he smiled, “and these are Zayn, Eric, Jo and Harry.” He nodded toward the one with the black hair, a tall guy with ice cold eyes, the short blond guy and, finally, the tall one with the curls.   
  
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled as I turned around to make my way to the bar. This was where my mysterious act ended, I decided. The guys freaked me out, and maybe Louis could see the charm of the actual awkward me I was.   
  
The tall one still blocked my way, Harry, I remembered he was called. He looked down on me with a crooked smirk didn't meet his eyes. There was something about the whole situation that made me feel uncomfortable. But as I was about to ask him to step aside, a stranger entered the bar and caught the boy's attention and I could quickly make my escape.   
  
I picked up a few other empty glasses from the tables on my way over to the bar. As my tray filled I was able to force my heart in a somewhat normal rhythm again. That was not as bad as it could have been, I comforted myself. Not as perfect as it could have been either, but life was hardly ever perfect, so that was okey.   
  
“How did that go?” Paul asked once I had joined him again. Fred was engaged in an intense discussion with Thomas about football.   
  
“Fine.” I lied with a smile.   
  
Paul looked at the other side of the bar and frowned. I followed his gaze as I cleaned the dirty glasses. Louis and the stranger were laughing about something. They talked for a while and then the stranger left. Just like that.   
  
Paul grunted something under his breath.   
  
“What was that all about?” I asked him as the door swung shut after the guy that had just left.   
  
“What do you think it was all about?” Paul grunted. He was focused on cleaning his bottles again. I looked at Louis from across the room. He laughed as he put away his wallet. I frowned.   
  
In the next hours about four more strangers came. Louis seemed to greet them all like old friends.They would talk for a while and then the stranger would leave again. I was weirdly intimidated.   
  
The hours passed and the bar got emptier, until it was only me and Paul, the five boys, Thomas and Fred and one very drunk guy that was sleeping on one of the tables.   
I was helping Paul with cleaning as I heard Louis call my name from across the bar.   
  
“Anne! Five more!” I froze for a moment as I met his eyes. He didn't look at me longer than necessary as soon as he had confirmed that I got his order, he turned back to the other boys again. With a frown, I looked at Paul for approval, he just nodded. I could hear Harry say something to his friend and Louis's laugh rippled through the thick atmosphere in the bar.   
  
“Hey Anne?! Make it six!” He added, still grinning slightly.   
  
“Six?” I asked Paul confused. He snorted.   
  
“They want to have a drink with you.” He told me with one eyebrow pulled up. He took in my reaction with folded arms.   
  
“Oh.” I could have seen that coming. “Is that ok?”  
  
“Sure. I’m about to close this place soon.” He answered and urged me to go. I quickly poured another beer and collected my courage to walk over to the boys.  _Deep breaths, this was my moment._


	3. Bingo

It was less awkward this time. Even though I felt like a bunny playing with a pack of wolves, I knew what to expect and I had my smile ready when I handed the guys their drinks. After all of them were holding a beer and I was left with the last one, I gathered my lasts shreds of courage and climbed onto the pool table next to Louis. My heart was racing as I took my first sip of beer. All eyes were on me.  
  
For weeks, Niall and I had been going over the way I should behave like.   
  
“Don’t make it too easy” Niall had told me. The plan was for him to fall in love. To trust me and let me in.   
  
However for him to fall in love with me, I needed to get him interested first. Revealing clothes were not my style, we had decided. So I had to be approachable enough for him to get interested, but also mysterious enough for him to chase after me. I had felt confident then. But I didn’t know if I was up for that task now. How could he possibly be interested in me? I thought as I avoided his gaze. The other boys started a new game again. Louis still didn’t join them. He was playing with a zippo as he watched the other boys play, clacking the lighter open and shut between his fingers, ignoring me in the process.   
  
As time went by I was able to calm my nerves. After all, I was sitting by his side for a few minutes now and I hadn’t died. Yet. To be fair, it was kind of boring. The boys ignored me completely as I just sat there and drank my beer. I got calm enough to look at the guy sitting next to me. He was still playing with his lighter, I could see the muscles in his tattooed forearm twist as his hands moved. His bare knee poked out of a hole in his black jeans.   
  
“Nice one.” He complimented Zayn after a good shot. He reached for the pack of cigarettes next to him.   
  
“So. Anne. How is your fist day?” I felt busted for looking at him when he started talking to me. Did he notice that I was staring at him?   
  
“Fine.” I smiled nervously. I heard Harry snicker. Was I being thát awkward?   
  
“What made you decide to work at my bar?” He asked straight forward as he put a cigarette on his lips and lit it. His voice wasn’t very deep but had a loud harshness as he talked.  
  
“Your bar?!” I echoed. I remembered Niall’s advice to not let Louis know exactly how intimidated I was by him, but it was hard for me to talk back at him.   
  
“My bar.” He repeated, softer than the first time.   
  
An awkward silence followed, and I took another sip of my   
beer, mainly as an excuse to take some time to think of an answer. This was my time to be bold.   
  
“I was looking for something exciting.” I decided as I looked at him directly. His eyes sparked. It was a very short moment and he corrected it immediately but something had been there. Immediately I feared for the kinds of demons might have awakened.   
  
“And? Did you find anything exciting?” He tried with a smirk on his face. It was obvious what he was hinting at.   
  
“Not yet.” I answered smiling as I looked away from him.  
I decided that this was where the chase would begin. Harry spat his beer back in his glass after hearing my comment. As I looked back to Louis, I saw that a dark annoyance had taken over his face. Had I been too bold? For a moment I feared he was about to tell me to leave and never come back, or worse. But he snapped at Harry instead.  
  
“ Oh, for Fuck’s sake Harry! That’s one too many! Eric, take him home, will ya?” He ignored me completely as he ordered the boys to leave. Harry was still snickering as he grabbed a black jacket and followed Eric. Maybe he díd have one beer too many, I thought.   
  
“Uhm. I should probably go with them” Jo mumbled. “My stuff is in Eric’s car.“  
  
He finished his beer, greeted Louis and Zayn and joined the two leaving boys on their way to the door. Zayn didn't say a word but sent me another dark look and walked over to the bar to join Paul. And like that, we were alone.   
The atmosphere had changed as the boys left. But I couldn't decide whether it was more tense or less.   
  
“So. Your bar.” I tried.   
  
Louis smiled. “Well. Not officially.”   
  
I clutched my beer glass in order to stop my hands from trembling.  
  
“Do you come here often?” I asked. Of course he came here often. That was the whole reason Niall and I had picked this place. But I needed to start some kind of conversation, even if it was through some cliché question that I already knew the answer to.   
  
“We hang out here every now and then.” He blew smoke up at the ceiling. I knew they came here every now and then. Or at least three times a week, to be exact. Mostly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday we had figured out, but sometimes on the other days as well.  
  
“And how about you? Where do you hang out?” He asked. His tone actually seemed interested.   
  
“At home.”  _Planning your downfall,_  I added in my head.   
  
“Shouldn’t you be going to school?” He noted.  
  
“No, I’m taking a year off… Family reasons.” I tried to avoid the subject.   
  
“Ah. And your parents are ok with that?” He tapped the ashes of his cigarette into an empty beer glass.   
  
“Let’s just say my father has a lot of other things on his mind right now.” I smiled, I could not tell him the whole truth. And a little bit of mystery wouldn’t hurt, I figured.  
  
“Rebellious.” He smiled back at me. “I like it.”


	4. Farmer in the Dell

We started talking about normal things for a while. Where I went to school and what my hobbies where. I made sure not to be all over him, but also not to be too distant. I did not need to work hard at keeping distance. He still had my heart racing through my chest. The way he narrowed his eyes at me when I said something too vague or the way he lowered his voice when he asked certain questions. And he never laughed out loud, I noticed, he just smiled. Something about him was dark and unpredictable. I could not tell why he even talked to me, at times he seemed interested and at other times he just ignored me. I had no idea what was going on in his head, and that was what   
scared me the most.   
  
It was a little later when Paul came over. Louis and I both had finished our drinks and Zayn and the two older guys had already left.   
  
“Sorry Tomlinson, I’m closing.” Paul started. He actually seemed tired.   
  
“That’s all right, it’s time to head home anyway.” Louis said as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He picked out some bills. “Keep the rest, as a tip for the young lady.” He reached past me to hand the money to Paul. He actually smelled nice, I noticed.   
Paul’s smile was a little sour when Louis mentioned my tip.   
  
“When will I be seeing you back, kiddo?” It seemed like I had earned a nickname along with the job.  
  
“When do you need me?” I smiled.  
Paul thought about that for a while. “I could actually use you Saturday, but maybe that’s too soon?”   
“Saturday is fine.” I smiled.   
  
“Ok, see you then. I can lock up by myself.” He collected the empty beer glasses from the pool table and walked back to the bar.   
  
Louis hopped off the pool table and grabbed a denim jacket.   
  
“So. How did you get here?” he asked as he leaned against the pool table. He stood closer than he had before and I could feel his warmth against my leg. His eyes pierced into mine and I feared that he would notice it if I lied to him.  
  
“A friend brought me here.” I mumbled as I looked at my legs. He was standing so close to me.   
  
“A friend?” He sounded skeptical.  
  
“Nothing special.” I promised as I looked up at him.   
  
“It better not be.” His smile was just as sarcastic as his words. Was this a threat? Because if it was, it was working. I didn’t know what to say for a while. Was he mad at me? Did he know what was going on? But just as fast as his eyes had darkened, they cleared up again.   
  
“So do you need a ride home?” He asked cheerfully.  
  
“Uhm. Sure.” I made sure to hesitate a while before giving in. I did not want to sound too eager and I also needed   
the time to prepare myself for what was going to happen.   
  
Everything was going according to plan, but I was nervous about getting in his car. There were so many things that could go wrong.   
  
Louis nodded his head and put on his jacket. As I hopped off the pool table and started walk towards the bar to get my purse, I felt his hand on my hip. It was just a short touch, but it sent a shiver up my spine. I couldn’t figure out whether I was scared or excited. His hand left a warm spot that I could still feel when I was at the bar collecting my stuff. Paul was busy counting change so I greeted him shortly before I left.  
  
Louis was waiting for me by the door.   
  
“Ready?” He asked as he put his phone away.   
  
“Jup.” I smiled, but it was a complete lie. I was a bundle of nerves as I walked towards him. I secretly checked the little Nokia in a secret pocket in my purse, maybe I would need it. Louis held the door open to me and as I walked past him he put his hand on the small of my back. Just for an instant, but it took my nerves to a whole new level. It took all my willpower to not just bolt out into the woods that surrounded the parking lot. Sure, the woods were scary at this time of night for a girl alone, but it would be like drinking a cup of tea with your grandmother compared to getting in a car with Louis Tomlinson. Or at least, that was what I imagined.   
  
Louis walked to a black Audi as he unlocked it. And I followed him. I needed to, I assured myself. I could not only be thinking about myself. This all served a purpose. I took some deep breaths and climbed into the car.   
“You tell me where to go.” Louis said as he turned on the engine and radio. A rock band basted from the speakers and he was quick to turn it down.   
  
I could only nod as he slowly pulled out of the parking lot. It would take about twenty minutes for him to drive me home. I could do this, just twenty minutes, I told myself.   
  
He was speeding. My back pressed against the chair. I had secretly always liked it if guys were speeding a little, it showed control. Of course Louis took control to a whole new, uncomfortable, level but I didn’t mind his speeding. His eyes were on the road and his fingers were tapping along with the music on the radio. I observed him for a while, the lines of the muscles in his arms, the way he wrinkled his forehead when we reached intersections and I told him where to go. He was actually quite attractive, in a dark, twisted kind of way.   
  
“Like what you see, Love?” he asked suddenly, without taking his eyes of the road. Immediately he had my heart racing again. I looked away quickly, hoping he wouldn’t notice my blushing. The rest of the car ride was comfortably silent. As far I could get comfortable around him. And to my surprise he actually followed the directions I gave to my house.   
  
“This is it.” I told him as we pulled up. It was a good thing me and my father had moved.   
  
Louis turned off the engine. “Did you have fun tonight?” he asked, as if we had gone ice skating together.  
  
“Sure.” Fun might not be the way I would describe it, but I had done what I had intended to do.   
  
“Did you?” I asked.  
  
“Lots.” He smiled. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the road ahead. He wanted to go home, I realized. I reached for the door handle and couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed. Nothing had happened, we didn’t exchange phone numbers and definitely no kisses. Had I failed?  
  
“Tell you what, Anne. You’re a strange little girl to turn up at a bar like that and to let a stranger drive you home.” He said as he kept his eyes on the road. Was that it? Did he just think I was strange? And nothing more? Strange wasn’t good. Strange was a girl in the back of the class with glasses and three kinds of braces. People stayed away from strange. Nobody would love Strange, nobody would fuck Strange and nobody definitely would tell Strange all his secrets. Not that I desperately wanted sex with Louis, by the way, but you probably get my draft.   
  
I panicked as I stepped out of the car, desperately trying to think of a comeback.   
  
“Don’t worry Louis Tomlinson, I know exactly what I’m doing.” Was all I could come up with.   
  
I turned around and leaned back into the car to smile at him. The lights in his car had died so I could just see his silhouette, sitting there, with one hand on the wheel and the other on his leg. His eyes sparkled like they had before, and one corner of his mouth was pulled up into a smirk.   
  
I decided that that was all I needed to say. So I turned around and slammed the car door shut. He did not drive off immediately. I could feel his eyes on my back as I walked up to the front door. My head was pounding trying to pick a right emotion for this moment. I could hear Louis starting his car as I opened the front door and stepped inside. He took off fast, way faster than was allowed.   
I slammed the front door shut and sighed as I locked it. This was it. I had the job, I had talked to Louis and he had even brought me home. I couldn’t tell if he was really interested in me, but I could work on that. Things were going great. I reached for the little Nokia in my purse.   
  
 _“ I’m home. Got the job. Talked to Him. ”_ I texted before I walked up the stairs to my bedroom.   
  
I was still trying to process everything that had happened that night as I undressed and went to the bathroom to take off my makeup an brush my teeth. A short buzzing announced a new text.  
  
 _“Great. Still in one piece? Found out anything interesting?”_  Was Niall’s reply.   
  
 _“Jep, that that guy is as predictable as the weather.”_ I actually sighed as I sent it.  
  
But it had me thinking. Did I find out anything about him? Our conversations had mostly been about me, I recalled. In fact I could not think of anything new he had told me. I hadn’t found out anything. Apart from the fact that he smelled better than I had anticipated and I liked his driving style. But those we not good things to find out. I could not like him, I should not like him, that was dangerous, I knew that.  
  
 _“Great. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”_  Niall replied. But I didn’t pay it any mind. I was trying to ban all positive thoughts about Louis from my mind as I climbed into my bed. I lay in bed for a while, but I could not relax, my mind was racing to process everything that had happened that night.   
  
One last time I heard the buzzing of a phone, not the Nokia, but my other phone. I frowned, who could be texting me at this time of night?   
  
 _“ Coffee tomorrow. L”_  
  
L? Louis? How did he get my number? And why did he want coffee? Was he asking me out on a date? Or was it just business?   
  
He wasn’t saved in my contacts. Questions raced through my head as I lay there panicking, staring at the text. Frantically, I checked my outbox and saw that at some point, I had called someone that night. The same number that had sent me that text. But I hadn’t called anybody. Did Louis call himself? How did he get my phone?   
When the shock had faded a bit I recalled the moment I hopped of the pool table. I had kept my phone in my back pocket and he had been standing close to me and had touched my back. He must have pickpocketed me and called himself as was saying my goodbyes to Paul. And he could have put my phone in my purse as we left the bar. All pieces fell into place and I felt weirdly intimidated.   
  
 _“Did you just pickpocket me to get my number?”_ I sent him.  
  
It did not take him long to answer.   
  
 _“I thought you knew what you were doing”_  
  
Not very comforting. But there probably was no comforting way to respond to something like that in the first place. I didn’t expect him to have a perfectly normal explanation for the fact that he had stolen my phone, just to avoid asking for my phone number. I was speechless as my phone buzzed once more.   
  
 _“You should probably put a password on it ;) ”_  
  
And so I did. But not on my normal phone, he could hack into that phone as much as he liked. But on the Nokia Niall had given me. Louis could not know what was on there.


	5. Statues

I didn’t sleep well that night. I had way too much adrenaline to rest and I was trying to wrap my head around everything. By the time it was 9 o’clock I decided that it was no longer useful for me to stay in bed so I got up and headed downstairs to make breakfast. My father had already left that morning so I had the house to myself.   
  
I turned on my laptop and checked my Facebook and twitter. Nothing much had been going on, except for some useless updates by my old friends. They had a test today. Poor them. I used to be really close with some girls in my class, but since everything had happened our relationship had become more distant. And as I didn’t go to school anymore, we barely talked.   
  
I signed in on Skype to check if Niall was online, he was.  
  
“Hey!” he greeted me. I made myself comfortable behind my laptop with my bowl of cereal, ready to file my mission report.   
  
“ Hi” I replied.   
  
“So how was it?” He wanted to know. I told him everything. That I had a job, how nice the other costumers actually were and how bad I was at pouring beer. I told him about the way Zayn had ordered drinks and the way Harry had laughed at my comments. And finally I told him about my date.  
  
I had decided that I would call it an official date. Louis had asked me out, even though it wasn’t with many words.   
  
“So, do you think he’s buying it?” Niall asked after I had finished my story.  
  
“I don’t know, we’ll see.“ was the only answer I could think of. I had been going over everything in my head, but I had no clue if he was interested in me.   
  
“By the way, do you know a place where I can sign up for kickboxing?” I asked Niall. I still remembered the tension I had felt when I was around the boys, maybe it would make me feel more secure. And to be fair, if I was going to call these little tasks “missions”, I might as well train like a soldier. I already had started running after the summer, but some defensive skills might come in handy at some point.   
  
“I will check it out tonight, I’ve got to go, though. See ya soon.” Niall smiled.   
  
“ See ya!” I greeted. Yes, kickboxing classes would be good, I thought, as I got up to put my, now empty, cereal bowl away. I even decided to go for a run later. But first I needed to figure out when Louis expected me to have coffee with him, and where.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was early in the afternoon when I arrived at the little coffeehouse where Louis wanted to meet me. My hair was still a little damp from the shower I took after my run, but apart from that I had made sure I was looking great. I was wearing a knitted grey off the shoulder jumper, black skinny jeans and some heels. I had left my emergency phone at home, in case Louis decided to pickpocket me again. It was a little early so he wasn’t there yet, but even without him there I was nervous. Should I wait outside? Or go in already? I decided to go inside, I would not wait outside for his permission to enter. I had made the resolution to be brave and ask questions this time. I couldn’t be behaving myself like a lost puppy around him.   
  
“Hey.” I heard, as I was about to open the door. Louis was jogging to meet me. He was wearing a black shirt with a grey and blue plaid jacket and black jeans. His hair was bouncing a little as he was jogging and I could see a little bit of the tattoo on his chest.   
  
“Let me get that” He said as he reached past me to open the door. Was he actually being nice?   
  
“Thank you.” I said as I stepped past him. He put his hand on my back again and I smiled, knowing that my phone was in my front pocket this time.   
  
“You’re welcome.” He mumbled as he shut the door behind me. His looks were less dark than they had been the night before, but maybe that was just me. The café was only half full of people and I spotted a comfortable looking booth by the window. It might be useful to be able to look outside when things got awkward.   
  
However without asking he ordered a latte and a black coffee to go, he took me by complete surprise. So for a while I just stood there staring at him.   
  
“Aren’t we staying?” I finally asked as the girl was making our coffees.   
  
“Nope.” Louis smiled. There was a little twinkle in his eyes again. Did he have some kind of plan?  
  
“There you go sir, have a nice day.” The girl said as she planted the cups in front of us. Louis immediately grabbed the normal coffee so I guessed the latte was for me. All I could do was grab the cup and follow him out the door.   
  
“ Why aren’t we staying?” I asked when we were outside again.  
  
“We are staying, but the weather is nice out. So why lock yourself up in a coffeehouse?” He started walking up to a bench nearby. He was right, the weather was nice for this time of year, he just didn’t strike me as an outside kind of guy. A little hesitant I followed him.   
  
“So. You pickpocketed me.” I tried as I sat down next to him. He Laughed.  
  
“Are you upset?”   
  
“A little. You could have just asked, you know.” I admitted as I warmed my hands on my coffee.   
  
“You could have said no.” He replied. As he pulled up an eyebrow at me.   
  
“Well, it was weird.” I decided to be straight forward.  
“Do you have more tricks I need to know about?”   
  
His smile suggested he had a lot of tricks I didn’t know about.   
  
We talked like that for a while. Flirted a bit. Apart from the fact that he was just creepy, I was starting to feel quite comfortable around him. Maybe it had been the alcohol that had put him on edge last night, or the area. And I believed he was starting to feel more comfortable as well. He smiled more, laughed every now and then and he even touched my leg every once in a while. But I could tell he still kept his distance.   
  
We were talking about silly stuff when his face turned darker all of a sudden. His eyes narrowed and he put his elbows on his knees as he looked off into the distance. He wasn’t paying attention to me anymore, his eyes were fixed on a black car that had entered the parking lot. A little shocked I stopped talking and just sat there. It was like the temperature had dropped a few degrees and the tension I had felt yesterday was back. The car stopped a few meters away from us.   
  
“Stay here.” Louis ordered with a cold voice. He got up and walked to the driver’s side of the car. At first I didn’t even think about moving, but it frustrated me that he just left me like that. Did he really think I was just going to sit here and wait while he was doing his business?   
  
My head was racing. Initially, my plan wasn’t to make it easy for him, I had talked about that with Niall. Louis had struck us as the kind of guy that liked a girl with an opinion. Not too much of an opinion, because that would be a burden, but just a little bit.   
  
I weighted the options in my head. He might get angry if I would just get up and leave, really angry. I took a quick look around the parking lot. There were a few people there, and there was an older couple sitting by the window of the coffeehouse, they seemed trustworthy. They would call the police if something would happen, I told myself. So I decided to gather my courage and leave as soon as the strange car had left. I clutched my empty coffee cup for support, I could always chuck it at him if things got out of hand.   
  
I had quite some time to gather courage. Louis was talking with the stranger behind the steering wheel like he had nothing else on his mind, he didn’t look at me once. I was definitely leaving, I thought. My own car was actually just a few parking spots away, I noticed. Maybe I could sneak off and drive away. Once I was in my car nothing could happen, right? The car still had the engine turned on, so Louis might not even hear me.   
  
My frustration came to an all-time-high as I watch him light up a cigarette. That’s it, I was leaving. My heart was racing as I slowly got up. I had my car keys ready. Louis still didn’t pay me any mind. I saw a bin next to my car and I decided to make it look like I was throwing away my cup.   
  
Step by step I got closer to my car, and still I didn’t hear him calling my name. I could barely hear my own footsteps over the sound of my heartbeat. This could go really wrong. My hands were sweaty and in my mind I saw pictures of Louis and me in a real Hollywood-worthy car chase. I was standing by the bin and he still had not noticed. From here it was only two meters to my car.   
  
The last few meters were the hardest, I didn’t dare to look at Louis and the strange car anymore. I flinched as I unlocked the car door and the blinkers went on and off. No reaction from Louis.   
  
I opened the car door and slowly slid behind the wheel. This was it, all I needed to do now is just start the engine and leave. And I did.   
  
My whole body was shaking with nerves as I pulled out of my parking space. I made sure to drive away from Louis and the car so that he couldn’t see my face.   
  
He was going to get angry, I realized, he was going to get really angry. And as soon as I was out on the road I regretted my adventure. And now what? Was I just going to wait at home for hell to break loose?


End file.
